Q. As far as you know, has the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat, increased or decreased over the last 12 months?

Total

Vote Labor

Vote Lib/Nat

Vote Greens

Total increased

62%

51%

74%

36%

Total decreased

7%

10%

5%

11%

Increased a lot

36%

24%

50%

7%

Increased a little

26%

27%

24%

29%

Stayed about the same

20%

28%

14%

33%

Decreased a little

6%

8%

5%

9%

Decreased a lot

1%

2%

*

2%

Don’t know

11%

11%

6%

20%

62% believe that the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat has increased over the last 12 months, 20% think it has stayed the same and 7% think it has decreased. 74% of Liberal/National voters think it has increased compared to 51% of Labor voters and 36% of Greens voters.

Of those who think it has increased, 59% said they were very concerned (in answer to the previous question) – and of those who think it has stayed the same or decreased, only 18% were very concerned.

All asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be sent back to the country they came from even if they are genuine refugees

31%

26%

38%

22%

Asylum seekers arriving by boat should only be allowed to stay in Australia if they are found to be genuine refugees

59%

67%

56%

66%

All asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be allowed to stay

4%

4%

2%

10%

Don’t know

6%

3%

4%

2%

59% agreed with the statement that “asylum seekers arriving by boat should only be allowed to stay in Australia if they are found to be genuine refugees” and 31% agreed that “all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be sent back to the country they came from even if they are genuine refugees”. Only 4% (including 10% of Greens voters) agreed that “all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be allowed to stay”.

Women were more likely to think genuine refugees should be allowed to stay (61% compared to 57% of men). 28% of those aged 55+ thought all asylum seekers should be sent back compared to 33% of those aged under 55. Comments »

Q6. How would you rate the Federal Government’s performance in handling the following issues?

Total good

Total poor

Very good

Good

Poor

Very poor

Not sure

Stimulating the economy to address the economic crisis

63%

29%

21%

42%

19%

10%

8%

Handling the economy in such a way as to minimize job losses during the recent economic crisis

59%

29%

15%

44%

18%

11%

12%

Trying to find ways to improve the health care system

50%

39%

10%

39%

24%

15%

12%

Replacing the Workchoices industrial laws

44%

36%

13%

31%

22%

14%

20%

Standing up for Australian working families

43%

45%

9%

34%

24%

21%

13%

Balancing the interests of business and Australian workers

39%

43%

5%

34%

25%

18%

18%

The school buildings program

31%

56%

5%

25%

29%

27%

14%

Introducing an emissions trading scheme

28%

57%

3%

25%

28%

29%

15%

Handling the issue of asylum seekers

18%

72%

3%

15%

28%

43%

10%

A majority of respondents rated the Government’s performance good or very good for “Stimulating the economy to address the economic crisis” (63%), “Handling the economy in such a way as to minimize job losses during the recent economic crisis” (59%) and “Trying to find ways to improve the health care system” (50%).

A majority rated the Government’s performance poor or very poor for “Handling the issue of asylum seekers” (72%), “Introducing an emissions trading scheme” (57%) and “The school buildings program” (56%).

The only issue on which less than half Labor voters rated the Government performance as good/very good was “Handling the issue of asylum seekers” (34% good/58% poor). Comments »

Q. Do you think the Federal Labor Government is too tough or too soft on asylum seekers or is it taking the right approach?

%

Too tough

6%

Too soft

65%

Taking the right approach

18%

Don’t know

11%

Most people (65%) think the Federal Labor Government is too soft on asylum seekers, 18% think the Government is taking the right approach, 6% think they are too tough and 11% don’t know.

Labor voters were more likely to think the Government is taking the right approach (31%), Coalition voters were more likely to think the Government is being too soft (90%) and Green voters were more likely to think the approach is too tough (24%).

56% of Labor voters and 25% of Green voters think the Government is being too soft on asylum seekers.

18 – 24 year olds were more likely to think the Government is taking the right approach (29%), while people aged 55 years and over were more likely to think the Government is too soft on asylum seekers (76%).

Males were more likely than females to think the Government is being too soft (69% v 62%).

When we asked a similar question in April last year, we found that 55% thought the Government was being too soft on asylum seekers, 26% thought the Government’s approach was about right and 4% thought the Government was too tough. Comments »

Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the issue of asylum seekers?

%

The Labor Party

23%

The Liberal Party

34%

No difference

28%

Don’t know

15%

34% of people trust the Liberal Party most to handle the issue of asylum seekers and 23% trust the Labor Party more. 28% think there is no difference and 15% don’t know.

Results followed party lines – Labor voters were more likely to trust Labor (46%) and Coalition voters were more likely to trust Liberal most (77%). Green voters were more likely to trust Labor when it comes to handling the issue of asylum seekers (38%).

34% of Labor voters think there is no difference when it comes to which party they trust to handle the issue.

People aged 55 years and over were more likely to trust the Liberal party to handle the issue (49%), while those aged 18 – 24 were more likely to trust Labor (38%).

In November 2009, we asked people which party they think is best to handle the issue of asylum seekers. We found that 23% thought Labor, 27% thought Liberal and 37% thought there would be no difference in terms of which party would be best to handle the issue. Comments »

Q. Which party do you think would be best at handling the issue of asylum seekers?

%

Labor

23%

Liberal

27%

No difference

37%

Don’t know

13%

27% of people surveyed think Liberal is the best party at handling the issue of asylum seekers, 23% think Labor is and 37% think there is no difference in how the two major parties would handle the issue.

Attitudes followed party lines – Coalition voters were more likely to prefer Liberal (65%) and Labor voters more likely to prefer Labor (65%).

54% of Green, 38% of Labor voters and 24% of Coalition voters think there is no difference between how Liberal or Labor would handle the issue of asylum seekers.

People aged 55 years and over were more likely to think Liberal would be best (36% Liberal to 22% Labor), while people aged under 35 were more likely to think Labor would be best at handling the issue of asylum seekers (27% Labor to 20% Liberal).

Males were more likely to think Liberal would be the party best to handle the issue (31%), while females were more likely to think there is no difference (40%).